The New Graham

Good afternoon. This is the Final NOTUS newsletter for July 13, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!

THE LATEST

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has selected the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, to serve as his interim replacement for the rest of his term. She will become the first female senator to represent the state.

Nordone is widely seen as a placeholder pick, meaning the November ballot is still anyone’s ball game — unless your name is Nancy Mace, one top official with Donald Trump’s political operation told Axios.

• “All we want is a Republican who is sane and can work with the White House,” they said.

The U.S. is restarting its naval blockade of Iran and imposing a fee of up to 20% on all cargo that passes through the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said this morning in a post on Truth Social.

• “The U.S.A. will be, from this point forward, known as ‘THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT,’” Trump wrote.

THE ADMINISTRATION

ICE was involved this morning in a second fatal shooting in less than a week, this one in Biddeford, Maine.

• In response, protesters gathered outside Sen. Susan Collins’ district office while shouting: “Vote her out!”

A federal judge dismantled Trump’s legal settlement with the IRS in a sweeping ruling today that also referred one of the president’s attorneys for professional misconduct.

Michael Cohen — yes, that Michael Cohen — is ready to bury the hatchet with Trump after several private meetings, he told The New York Times.

• “If Donald Trump and Michael Cohen can rekindle and reconcile their past relationship, then anyone should be able to,” he said.

Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano keeps sending field offices packages of chocolate-covered pretzels made by his daughter’s company, Pretzables.

• Staff say the gesture isn’t increasing morale, but it is raising ethics questions,NOTUS’ Natalie Alms reports.

THE HILL

Top Trump ally (and former White House doctor) Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) is throwing his hat into the ring to serve as the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee. The role’s current occupant, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Alabama), is term limited.

THE STATES

Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, a Democrat running for governor, fired her campaign manager on Sunday for filing “inaccurate and incomplete campaign finance reports,” she said in a statement.

There are now more than 3,000 confirmed cases of severe diarrhea related to the parasite cyclospora in Michigan and Ohio, CNN reports. Investigators in both states and the federal government still have not located the source of the outbreak.

HAALAND MANIA

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